Is Air America good now and will it improve over time?

[Michael Costello]

Pacifica has a station local to me (WBAI), so I listen to them a lot. Some of the shows I like a lot like Doug Henwood's show about the economy. They also have stations, as well as affiliates/associates nationwide. Anyhow, Air America competes in only two markets with them (NYC and LA), not a big deal as I am a big fan of only a few WBAI shows, and would probably wind up liking some Air America shows over others.

I have not listened to Franken yet as I've been busy at noon. I like Nader so I disagreed with what Randi was saying yesterday, although I can't remember the last time I heard a debate between a center-left (Randi on Kerry) position and a farther left position (Nader on Nader) on radio. She probably should have let him speak more but it's not THAT big of a deal - he felt he wasn't getting to say everything so he said to read http://votenader.org which I did. If he wants to talk extensively, there's always Pacifica.

I though the show with Garofalo and the other guy was good. They do seem to be stepping on each others lines a bit, but this will probably improve over time. I liked their show.

I then tuned in later and heard Larry David speaking. I thought that was a cool guest to have - he doesn't do many interviews.

I assume the shows with co-hosts will become smoother as they stop stepping on each others lines and so forth. As far as longer term problems, who knows? Pacifica is more my type of station, but I'll probably tune into Air America if I like the show or if I hear someone is going to have a guest I like.

[lancdem]

1. I got a chance to listen to Franken a bit today

I liked it, but I'm sure the whole network will improve with time.

[Scairp]

2. It will get better

As with any new enterprise like this they need some time to work out the bugs. I think that once the non-traditional radio people like Al and Janeane get used to that medium they will be much much better. Even Randi, who is an experienced radio journalist, has had some problems. It's only the second day ya know. I think we can cut them a little slack.

[sangh0]

3. Over time

they will see what gets the good reactions and what doesn't. Right-wing radio had years and years to test their message and they STILL can't get high ratings.

[AverageJoe]

4. I'm listening to Randi Rhodes

right now via the Internet. She runs a great call-in show. I'm loving it!

Some guy from Canada is calling in ragging bigtime on Bush. Fun stuff, indeed.

[salvorhardin]

5. My observations

I and others have said this elsewhere, but what the hey... I haven't listened to all of the programming, but I'll comment on what I have heard.

1) Get rid of Al Franken's co-host. She's deadly dull and seems to be holding Franken back. Yeah, Franken needs to learn the pacing of radio, but he's hardly new to the game.

2) Janeane Garofalo's show is horribly slow paced. If you had never heard Janeane before you could never tell that she used to be a commedian. For a long time, my biggest criticism of the left has been the same as Limbaugh's -- we're killjoys. That doesn't mean we have to adopt the brain-dead lobotomized don't-worry-be-happy mindset of the repukes, but the left must temper their message with humour.

3) I love Randi so I'm not impartial here. My biggest criticism is she needs to get used to the automation system a little more.

4) Morning Sedition -- again, I can't believe that one of this show's hosts (Liz Winstead) was co-creator of the Daily Show. Where is the smart wit we see on the Daily Show? Was it all Jon Stewart? I'd like to believe not.

5) Production sucks right now. The sound mix is horrible, its' clipping all over the place. Maybe they're just overcompressing their stream and the over-the-air sound is decent. I don't know, as I don't have a broadcast station to listen to. My guess here is that these people aren't used to working in the digital realm. Hint: Unlike analog, you can't run the signal slightly hot. Digital zero is absolute. Question though... Why does Randi's show sound so much better than the rest?

6) I understand the need for advertising dollars, and in fact mentioned so in another post, but why the heck are they taking money from all these quack diet and male "virility" pill companies? I find this to be intellectually dishonest. I know, they need the money now, but so help me if I hear a Walmart commercial I'll scream.

7) Mike Malloy. 11pm to 2am. 'nuff said.

Look, I don't mean to sound hypercritical and I'm sure things will improve over time. These are just the things that annoy the hell out of me right now.

[adriennui]

6. i enjoy the o'franken factor

but i do agree his co-host is bringing the show down a bit. al is able to make his point and be witty at the same time, but kathryn seems to be acting as a scold most of the time. maybe they'll be more in synch as time goes by. my opinion is al doesn't need a permanent co-host.
i began to listen to randi rhodes but found her abrasive...i'll give her another chance.

the concept is great, i hope they succeed.